Last Updated: May 12, 2010
Speeches
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May 30, 2010
Statement by Hon.Sujata Koirala, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs at a Special Function to welcome Mr. Apa Sherpa on his Appointment as SAARC Goodwill Ambassador on Climate Change
I extend my warmest congratulations to you, Apa, on your historic feat to have successfully reached the top of the Mt. Everest for a record 20th time. I am particularly touched by your Everest climbing mission, which is all the more admirable. Your commitment to help support education in the remote villages in the Everest is commendable. More commendable is your dedication and continuing works to clean Mt. Everest from garbage disposals and preserve its pristine environment by taking tremendous risks.
Today, I am profoundly happy to inform you that in recognition of your legendary world record of scaling the summit of the Mt. Everest and for your dedication to the Himalayan Mountains, the 16th SAARC Summit recently held in Thimphu, Bhutan has endorsed Nepal's proposal to appoint you as SAARC Goodwill Ambassador for Climate Change for two years (2010/2011).
As a Sherpa child born in the lap of the Mt. Everest and as a mountain climber since your early boyhood days, no other person than you have closely observed the environmental change that is taking place in the Himalayan region owing to global climate change. While passing through the most difficult ridges at the South Col on the way to the summit of the Mt. Everest you have noticed the thinning of the icecaps in the surrounding Himalayas and melting of glaciers. These are, indeed, matters of serious concern with huge implications to entire South Asia region.
Your firsthand information and knowledge regarding the rapidly changing mountain eco-system and the urgent need to protect them is the main contributing factor for your nomination as SAARC Goodwill Ambassador on Climate Change.
On behalf of the Government of Nepal and on my own, I extend hearty congratulations on your appointment as SAARC Goodwill Ambassador on Climate Change, which carries tremendous amount of goodwill and prestige in the region and beyond. I earnestly hope that with your humble and simple approach, you will be able to communicate the message to the regional and global audience on dire consequences of the climate change and the urgent need to address them.
With these words, I once again wish all the best to Apa for the success of your goodwill mission to raise awareness on the urgent need to preserve and protect fragile Himalayan mountain eco-system, which is the source of lives and livelihood of more than one billion people in the region. I assure you the Government of Nepal's full support and cooperation in the discharge of this noble endeavour.
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